Twilight Fantasy
by P12194892
Summary: A Twilight style mixed with Final Fantasy 7. When Tifa is sent to live with a family friend she is enrolled into Edge's High School where she meets the mysterious Cloud. She is determined to find out his secret. Cloud/Tifa Tifa/Zack Yuffie/Vincent
1. Like Woah

**Prologue **

"_I know what you are..." Tifa whispered under her breath which broke through the piercing silence, feeling a spine chilling shiver tremble through her. She knew it, deep down in her soul that this would change things between them forever. The fighter knew that she was getting herself into things she knew she should stay well away from. The threat she should have felt should have been enough for her to turn around and run away. Well away. She should have known better but something was pulling her down towards the threat, like gravity. Her will was stronger. Both her heart and her brain were sending her mixed signals. She had already chosen which she would listen to and there was no flicker of doubt about it. "Are you afraid?"_

_Tifa breathed in and locked onto his piercing sapphire eyes in contrast to her ruby ones. Like fire and water and the constant endeavour. Her heart flickered and ached. She knew what she was getting herself into but she refused to back away for the love she held was strong and pure. It was worth fighting for. Even if it meant dyeing for it._

"_...No..."_

**Like Woah**

"_Up and down and side to side,every inch of me is like woah woah, got me feeling like woah woah!" - Aly & Aj ~ Like Woah_

The sun was shining and the air was pure in the busy city of Edge, all that could be heard was the occasional noise of a passing car driving by followed by children's laughter. There were ice crème vans parked up street paths, the smell of freshly cut grass and the warmth radiating from the suns heat. It was late August, and there was a strong sense of disappointment and anxiousness in all the kids stomachs of the recurring thought of returning back to school. The last day of August was indeed a sad one. It marked the last day of the summer break. The very last day until everything turned back to normal routine. Everyone would miss the sweet weather, the excitement as they boarded an airship to their dream holiday and of course the days where you would wake up late and not do a single thing all day. Yes, this seemed like an ordinary day but was soon to turn very different at the new arrival.

"Wow, this is such a big city!" A 17 year old girl with dark brown hair and ruby glistening eyes said as she walked causally out of Edge's train station. The girl had long dark brown hair that ended near her waist and an angelic heart shaped face. She was wearing a white tank top followed with cute cut off blue boy shorts which was accompanied by a pair of over used tatty red converse. She had a big red rucksack strapped to her back and a massive luggage bag standing upright. She obviously was new in town. She peered at her instructions and map and looked for directions. She asked a few random people passing by where a bar called "Seventh Heaven" would be. They directed her but she still felt completely confused. She was out of her element.

"This city is so big compared to my little town..." She sulked as she dragged her heavy luggage down the station steps. Her forehead started to sweat. The weight of her luggage and the hot summer weather was so not helping her. She made her way to the centre of the town and gasped in exertion._ Where do I go now? _She thought to herself. She looked around wildly from corner to corner and started to go down any random road, hoping that the gods would direct her to the destination. An hour dragged by as she walked around endlessly, winding up where she first started her infuriating journey to find the stupid bar. To make things worse she was developing painful blisters on her feet and was extremely thirsty.

"Oh what the hell!" She screamed, already getting irritated. She gave up and sat on a wooden bench , rubbing her aching feet. _First day is such a fail, I hope this isn't a bad omen..._

Somewhere on the other side of town a 17 year old boy with dark raven hair with piercing blue eyes screamed with excitement at his new prototype.

"This is defiantly gonna' be fast!" He air punched the sky and grinned from edge to edge.

"Guess this is gonna' need to be tested..." He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. This was a sign of his anxiety. Sure he wanted to test it out but what happened if things back fired? It would be pretty hard to live down if something happened. _Oh just get on with it you idiot!_ He thought to himself, wheeling out the prototype motorcycle out of his shabby garage and onto the road side.

"Okay! Prototype number 3 please oh boy please run smoothly," He put one leg over the bike and hopped onto the seat, leaving his left leg balancing himself on the bike, "Come on girl..." He held onto the clutch and revered up the engine, putting his foot slowly onto the pedal. He shut off the gas and let go of the clutch and with that the bike woke up and growled with a loud grumble, shooting off down the road at lightning speed.

"OH YEAHH!" He screamed, zooming past passing houses, trees and pavements. Faces blurred past him, sometimes shouting things that he couldn't interpretate.

"SORRY!" He yelled looking slightly back. The bike suddenly had a mind of its own, refusing to stop. The boy hit the break with full power but the animal wasn't backing down that easily.

"Shit!" The bike was zooming down the road, even with the boys failed attempts to slow it down was short lived. He steered it right then left then right again, dogging on coming cars and trucks. _SHIT I'M DONE! _His head screamed. He was going so fast that his hair was on stand and his eyes leaked from the sides, courtesy from the rushing wind. He suddenly saw a person in front, crossing the road. The animal rumbled seeing its target and still didn't stop, even with the boy mashing down the break with full force.

"GET OUTTA THE WAY!" He boomed, but it was way too late for the person to witness the monster that was coming towards them at full speed. _CRAP! _The boy yanked the steering handles and abruptly the whole body of the bike swerved, successfully missing the target but unfortunately heading for the centre monument. The fountain..

The girl found herself in shock. Things slowly started to process in her head. One – She had chosen to cross the road, two - a Jack ass on a speeding motorcycle nearly ran her over and three – she was ninety nine point nine percent sure that the stupid jerk had just crashed with full speed into the centre monument. A rush of random people flooded to the scene. Some asked the girl if she was alright and if she was injured.

"I'm okay!...I think," She nervously laughed, picking up her luggage and rolling it out to the injured party. "Someone call an ambulance!"

A bunch of on-lookers ran towards to the boy who had fallen dangerously off the bike and landed somewhere on the hard ground.

"Oh...mmm...I...'m...alrigh..t" He said, brutally injured and hurt. The crowd of people slowly dispersed, clearing a space for the poor boy to stand. The girl swiftly dragged her luggage to the boy who had nearly killed her by accident.

"Are you okay?" She asked him, looking down at his injured face. "You're bleeding!"

"Someone call an ambulance!" Someone shouted from the crowd. The boy on the floor jerked up, wincing a little.

"No... I'm alright, I'm fine, just a few cuts that's all!" He said, trying to smile but flinched from the stinging pain. _How can he still be standing? That fall was enough to shatter his spinal cord! _The girl thought to her self, putting her luggage down. People were still concerned but gradually started to depart, believing that the boy was 'okay'.

"I'm okay, wish I could say the same for my bike!" He picked up parts of his bike that had smashed off from impact. "Man this is going to be expensive to fix..." The girl knelt beside him and picked up a random part of his poor broken up bike.

"You sure you're okay? You have a massive cut on your forehead!" The girl stated, grabbing at a handkerchief out of her pocket, "Don't worry it's clean." She started to dab at his cut that was slightly throbbing red liquid.

"Erm, thanks?" He blushed and backed away, wiping at his cut furiously, "I'm fine, don't worry!" The girl raised her eyebrow up. They both stood up.

"I am, I promise!" She still didn't believe him, "If my head was any harder you could use it as a cannon ball!" He laughed. The sides of the girls mouth peaked but she still was serious.

"Are you okay though? You were the person crossing the road right?" She nodded and laughed.

"I was like woah! I really didn't have a chance to react..." His brow furred as he listened, "It's not every day you nearly have a motorcycle crash into you,"

She laughed and smiled, tilting her head to the side slightly. "You sure you're alright? That was quite a fall."

_She's cute! _The boy thought as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yep, I ache a lot but I've been through worse," He smiled back and laughed.

"How can things be possibly worse than that!" She laughed back, shaking her head from side to side in disbelief. _This boy is utterly reckless! But I have to hand it to him he has guts! _She thought to herself.

"Hey do you know where I can find a bar called the seventh heaven?" She asked politely, showing him some information she had printed off the computer a few days before making the trip to Edge.

"Yeah sure, you've got to go that way," He pointed over to a direction, "and then go up the road and it should be on your next right."

The girl smiled then nodded and picked back up her luggage, "Thanks!" She began to walk in the direction the boy had just shown her.

"Hey! What's your name?" He shouted from afar. She was already a good distance away from him.

She turned around and answered, "Tifa Lockhart, nice to meet you!" She smiled and waved.

"Zack Fair! See you around I guess!" She shrugged and smiled.  
"I guess!" She laughed, and turned back around, slowly disappearing down the long dark road.

_Wonder where she came from, I sure haven't seen her around._ Suddenly a hand was placed on Zacks shoulder.

"Zack Fair, I should have known it was you..." Zack turned around and winced. The polices new recruitment, Jessie, was on the scene.  
"You're in very big trouble for speeding, driving without a licence, and damaging public property," she said sternly. And with that, Zack knew that as soon as he got home he was going to get the biggest telling off the world._ Oh crap..._

"So ther' she is!" A man boomed from over the counter from inside the bar. There were wooden stools planted at random wooden tables, and a long bar at the end of the room. There also was a little staging area in the corner of the bar, holding a old looking wooden piano and an electric mic. Tifa grinned and closed the door entrance behind her. She had finally made her way to seventh heaven unscratched, almost. She set down her luggage and gave the big man a friendly embrace.  
"Barret, its been a long time," She smiled and let go of the beastly man. He was massive, and was strong built. His skin was glowing a healthy tan and one of his arms had been moulded into a gun arm due to an accident that happened a few years back.

"Tifa, send ya' regards to yer' ol' man," He went over to her luggage and picked it up without hesitation. _He makes it look so easy..._ Tifa thought to herself as she watched him lift the heavy luggage up the stairs. She followed him up the wooden stairs and went into a room on the left.

"This is yer' room..." Barret pointed out, setting the luggage down on the floor and pointing toward the new bed sheets, "the sales lady picked out purple, yer' like purple'?"

"Purple good," Tifa smiled observing the room. The room was average size and inside sat a single bed, a work desk accompanied by a small work lamp. There was a blue rug sitting on the wooden floor and a empty wooden wardrobe in the corner of the room. There was also a large window with white curtains that made the whole room light up.

"So yer'.. I'll let ya' unpack," He turned around and started to exit, "Marlene will be home later, so come a see er', she's been expecting ya'." He laughed and then left. _The best thing about Barret is he doesn't hover. _Tifa sighed in exhaustion from her very long journey and sat on the end of the bed, thinking of the reasons why she had to make her journey in the first place.

She came from a little village called Nibelheim. Her father was out on business all the time and was never around which made life at home very lonely for Tifa Lockhart. Her mother had passed away when she was only young which meant she had no time to be a child and grew up very quickly. Her father hated the fact he had to leave her alone while he was out on business so he finally pulled out of her school in Nibelheim and made arrangements to transfer her to the city of Edge's high school. He had an old family friend who lived there and asked if he could give his daughter accommodation in exchange for her to work a few shifts at the bar. Of course the man agreed because he knew the strain the Lockhart family had been having due to Tifa's mother dyeing early. Tifa herself didn't mind leaving her little town, she was actually quite relived. The city of Edge had many more career prospects. It saved her from moving there when she was older. Sure she missed her father but she always felt that she was alone being at home so why should this be any different? She had known Barret and his daughter Marlene mostly all her life and counted them as family. The only family she had.

Tifa heard voices coming from down stairs which stopped her flow of thought. The voice seemed to be asking for her. Tifa smiled to herself and instantly knew who it was. She got up and made her way downstairs to the bar. There stood a little girl with light brown hair that was tightly plaited. She was wearing a white dress and white shoes to match. She had a cute angelic face and strawberry red lips. Her eyes where brown and inviting.

"Marlene!" And with that, Tifa hurried towards the girl who was also hurrying towards her. They caught each other in a tight embrace and both laughed.

"I've missed you girl!" Tifa said, hugging her harder. The little girl laughed and hugged her back as hard as could.

"I've missed you too Teef!" The small girl let go and rubbed her face where Tifa had gave her a big kiss. "Eww!" Tifa laughed and ruffled up her hair, knowing that this it was she hated.

"Hey!" She frowned and flattened her hair down with her little hands, "meanie!"

Both Barret and Tifa laughed at the little girl. Tifa smiled and knew she was going to be okay, she already felt like she was at home. She already felt that this is where she truly belonged.

The clock read 7.00PM and Tifa Lockhart had successfully finished her first shift at the Seventh heaven bar. She had collected used cups and pints, scrubbed the tables, moped the floor and washed the cubs and pints she had collected. It was fair to say that she was well and truly beat. She yawned and thanked Barret again for letting her stay in his home. She put Marlene to bed and returned to her room. She could still hear the bellowing laughter of the old customers down stairs. This was something she would have to get used to from now on. She unpacked her suitcases and rucksack, putting her clothes neatly in the drawer and wooden wardrobe. She got all of her necessities and put them in a translucent bag, then put it in the top draw. She cringed at the thought of one bathroom. This was another thing she would also have to get used to. She popped to the bathroom and placed her green toothbrush in the pot along with Barret's and Marlene's. She then returned back to her room and unpacked her cell. She had promised her father that she would call him as soon as she got settled.

"Hi dad," She lay down on her bed horizontally and kicked of her tatty red converse off her aching feet.

"Hey sport, how is everything? Did you get there alright?"

"Yeah things are good, the train was on time for once. I just finished my first shift at the bar," She answered, twirling a strand of hair between her fingers. She was not going to mention the near death experience involving a a bike nearly smashing into her. That would only make her poor father worry even further.

"Tifa, please be careful, a big city like Edge is very dangerous full with weirdos-"

"Don't worry dad I'm not totally useless I can fight you know!" Tifa argued. She hated it when people thought she was weak.

"Yes I know honey but you're not superwoman, you're still my little girl," Tifa rolled her eyes at this, "And don't roll your eyes at me Tifa Lockhart!"

"How did you know-"

"I know you too well honey," Her father laughed. Tifa also joined in. She suddenly felt a pang of pain hit her chest.

"I miss you dad," She sniffed.

"I miss you too sport but you have to be strong, no tears okay?" Tifa smiled and nodded to herself. She loved her father very much and wished that she could spend more time with him.

"Well I have to go now honey, remember you can email, text and call me whenever you want," Tifa sighed.

"Sure dad, bye, I love you."

"Bye, I love you too honey,"

She clicked 'end call' and put her cell down on top of the drawer. She looked back to the clock that was hanging on the white glossed wall. It read 8:15PM. She suddenly remembered that tomorrow was the big day, she would have to go to Edge's popular high school. She thought of her old high school and instantly missed her old friends. _You'll be fine _She kept telling herself, wishing that she would actually believe her own advice. It wasn't working at the butterflies in her stomach were causing an up roar of nerves. She felt unbelievably sick and knew she wasn't going to sleep well tonight. She arranged what clothes she would wear the next day and packed her school bag up, putting a letter of enrolment she had received a few weeks ago. She also put her cell, stationary and a few old text books In the red rucksack. _There everything's done _She thought to herself. She put her bag near the door and then slipped into her old sweats and got into her new bed. _Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep. _She kept telling herself, shutting her eyes tight. All was in vain because her mind was focused on the nerve racking day that was laid in front of her. She sat bolt upright and checked the clock on the wall yet again. The time read 9:30. She groaned in annoyance and fell back to her pillow. _1 chocobo, 2 chocobo, 3 chocobo, 4 chocobo... _The daylight had slowly turned to dusk then to twilight then to complete and utter darkness. The night air was drafting through the opened window, making the white curtains waver. Tifa had finally fallen into a peaceful slumber, dreaming endlessly of the day that she previously had. She almost looked angelic.

What was in store for her she did not know, but it was enough to change the course of her life forever...

* * *

A/N - I DO NOT OWN THE CHARACTERS OR THEMES, I only own the plot. Hey guys! my first fan fiction posted on here! It's a twilight/FF7 crossover! I've made it more on the ff7's side and used the themes of Twilight. I hope the first chapter is okay D: apologies if there are any mistakes. Reviews would be nice hehe :3 I'm not a massive fan of Twilight and i hate some aspects in the storyline. 3 i love Zack haha XD a bit of an abrupt opening for that charater eh? Anyway stay tuned and the next chapter should be uploaded very soon! :) Thanks for reading x


	2. Starstruck

**Starstruck **

"_So starstruck, baby could blow my heart up? I'm so starstruck baby could you blow my heart up?"- Lady Gaga feat Space Cowboy ~ Starstruck_

"See you," Tifa struggled to say as the nerves were starting to get to her at the thought of going to her new high school. Barret raised his eyebrow and realized something.

"Wait kid," Tifa turned around to see Barret walk over to her. "I 'ave a little present yer' dad wanted to give ya'." Tifa looked puzzled. She followed him out the bar and went towards the small garage that was just next to the bar. She watched Barret as he opened the garage door and threw a set of keys to her.

"This is yers'," He grinned. She followed his gaze and set her ruby orbs on a red 1963 Chevy pick up truck.

"No way!" She laughed and ran up to it, inserting the keys in the key hole then swinging the door open.  
"Yer' dad picked it out and bought it off an old suppler," Barret patted the bonnet, "Old beauty ain't she?" Tifa jumped into the front seat and placed her hands on the wheel.

"She sure is!" Tifa laughed and threw her school bag onto the seat next to her.

"Wel' good luck with the first day, yer' still remember how to get ther'?" He asked, walking out the garage.

"Yeah and thanks," _I'm going to need it_, Tifa cringed at the thought and turned the engine on. A loud rumbling sound barked out and with that the old truck came to life whilst she put her foot down on the accelerator. Barret and Marlene, who had appeared by his side, waved from outside. Tifa returned the wave and started her journey to her new high school.

As she arrived she saw all the unrecognisable faces walking into the entrance, getting out of their cars and sitting down on the grass outside with their friends. She breathed out and with a shaky turn she turned her truck into an available parking slot. _You'll be fine, _she told herself and took out her keys out of the ignition and opened the car door, taking her school bag with her. She shut the car door and swung her baG on her shoulders and started to walk to the main entrance, following the instructions the school had sent her on a introduction letter. The high school was like any other regular one. It was quite big and was surrounded by trees and vegetation. Tifa gulped, _I'm so going to get lost here..._ She looked around her, biting her a lip, a habit she had whenever she was nervous. She could have sworn people were staring at her. She ignored this and kept moving and gazed around the parking lot. Most of the cars where old models except for a shiny silver porche that looked totally out of place and an enormous new model motorbike next to it. At least Tifa didn't have to worry about her poor old truck looking rather out of place. She entered the main building and gave the receptionist her enrolment letter and accepted the timetable in exchange.

"Give this enrolment slip to your tutors and at the end of the day register here," Tifa nodded and also received a slip and a map, "and if you have any problems just come back here." The kind receptionist smiled and returned to her computer. Tifa breathed out and peered at the timetable she had just received. Calculus._...Great_. She looked at the map and found a way to building '3'. The bell had rung for first lesson and she was late in trying to find the stupid class. She finally found the classroom and stood outside the door. _Oh great! I'm 10 minutes late and everyone has already sat down!,_ Tifa cringed even further, looking through the small window. She turned around, facing the window with her back, thinking about what she would do. _Do I go in? I don't want to disturb them...Oh just GO! _She debated with herself, biting down on her lip even harder that she nearly drew blood.

"Excuse me do you need something or are you standing outside my class for the hell of it?" A sharp voice said behind her. She shot round and blushed bright red. The teacher had appeared not looking too happy. She had a blonde bob and looked very official in her white shirt with a black tie accompanied by a set of black trousers and black shoes. Tifa gazed past her to meet thirty pairs of eyes turning her way with some whispering to one another and some actually sniggering._ SHIT._

"Um..um.. I'm new here, I got lost...and-" She froze on the spot, feeling the nerves take over her body.

"Well next time try and get here earlier, I will not tolerate lateness." The teacher abruptly spoke over her, _Ouch, _Tifa winced and followed her in the classroom and tried not to look at the students that were watching her every move. She gave her the slip and waited for a response...and waited and waited...

"Well are you going to sit down or not?" The teacher yelled, making Tifa jump.

"S..sorry.." She stuttered and looked over for an empty seat. She found one next to a friendly looking girl and kept her head down, walking to the seat. She sat down quickly and threw her bag under the table. The teacher breathed out, impatiently and then carried on the class. Tifa was so close to crying so she pushed her hair forward and started to bite her nails, squinting so hard that the tears wouldn't come out. After the teacher had gone over what they would learn in the current semester, she gave out sheets of work and returned to the desk. A student then handed out text books to each desk.

"Don't worry, Elena is always like that..." The girl next to Tifa whispered to her, pretending to flick through the text book. Tifa glanced at her and smiled. She had long brown hair which was tightly plaited and emerald green eyes. She was wearing a pink and white dress with white sandals. She returned her a warm smile and pointed at the work.

"I hate calculus," She made a face, "I'm so failing in it."

"Me too," Tifa replied with a smile.

"I'm Aerith Gainsborough,"

"Tifa Lockhart," Tifa grinned and with that she had made her first friend at Edge's High school.

For the next two hours they talked about their interests, dislikes and what teachers to look out for. They compared timetables and worked out what lessons they had together. Tifa told her about where she was from and why she had moved. Aerith nodded in an understanding manner and talked about herself.

"So how are you liking Edge? A bit different from your quite town huh?" Aerith asked politely, whilst they walked down the corridor to the cafeteria.

"Yeah it's alright," Tifa replied, "How long have you lived here?"

Aerith sighed but replaced it quickly with a smile.

"All my life," She said, sounding sad, "but I'm going to move away after graduation!" She perked up laughing.

"Got any ideas where you're going to move to?"

"Hmm hard choice! Possibly the Costa Del Sol?" Tifa grinned at this and laughed.

"Sun, sea and the hot guys! What's not to love about the Costa Del Sol!" Aerith's eyes widened and suddenly burst out laughing.

"Well of course!" Tifa laughed along with her. Tifa was relieved that she had befriended someone like Aerith. She was so easy to talk to and Tifa didn't feel awkward around her. She hoped that Aerith felt the same about her.

They reached the cafeteria and sat down with a group of her friends. There was one boy swinging off his chair, goofing around. He had bright red hair and blue eyes. Next to him was a quiet boy with dark shades and on the opposite side of the table was a girl with chocolate brown eyes and auburn coloured hair. Tifa blushed at the 3 pairs of eyes that had turned her way

"Well well well, who's your friend Aerith?" The red haired boy asked, already leaning on the table, his eyes locked onto Tifa which were refusing to budge. Tifa felt violated.

"This is Tifa, she's new here," Aerith answered, sitting down. Tifa automatically sat down to the chair next to her, slightly turning away from the red haired boy. He moved his chair closer to her, making Tifa silently curse in her head.

"My name is Reno, it's a pleasure to meet you," He smiled darkly, leaning further towards her. As he moved towards her she moved backwards.

"Nice to meet you." Tifa said, gritting her teeth together.

"Reno, leave her alone you pervert," The girl with the auburn hair said solemnly, biting into her sandwich. Tifa gave her a promising look as Reno sat back in his chair.

"I'm Cissnei and that's Rude," Tifa nodded and looked to Rude and back to Cissnei. Rude slightly nodded his head. Tifa could have sworn he was turning pink.

Aerith sighed and rolled her eyes.

"It's like you're the shiny new toy or something," She whispered, not looking too impressed, "just ignore them."

They started to talk about how there summers had been. Reno was chatting obsessively about his knew hobbies and how his holiday to the Costa Del Sol went.

"...And there was this HUGE wave," He made his arms mimic the size of the wave, "and I was like, DUDE!..." Tifa added in the occasionally 'oh wow!' and 'oh really?' when necessary and rolled her eyes at Aerith. Aerith laughed and also pretended to sound interested.

"He's ALWAYS like this!" She whispered to her while Reno was getting right into his story.

"Actually Reno, you got scared and screamed for your mom to come and save you," Rude cut in. Reno gave him a withering death stare.

"I think you're forgetting that it was ME who saved you from drowning Rude," Reno sharply cut in.

Cissnei laughed under her breath.

"No you both were drowning and it was me who had to save both of your asses," both Rude and Reno growled in Cissnei's direction. Their poor attempt to impress the new girl had failed. They carried on the conversation, bickering about who looked better on the surf board.

Suddenly the door to the cafeteria opened which was in Tifa eye range. A young girl with short black hair skipped in. She had the most cheeky looking grin on her face imaginable. She was wearing a cute fashionable tank top with short black Jean shorts and a pair of black converse. She had bright brown eyes which had a strange blue/green tint to it. She skipped across the cafeteria which was so light that Tifa could have sworn she flew. Tifa was captivated.

"Who's she?" Tifa asked Aerith. Aerith turned to her and gazed in her line of sight.

"She's Yuffie Kisaragi, cute isn't she?" Tifa could sense a tiny bit of resentment in Aerith's voice. She was shortly followed by a tall dark guy. He was very mysterious, wearing a red T-shirt and black jeans. He had dark circles under his eyes and long dark hair. He had a very handsome face which made Tifa gawk. He also had the same blue/green tint glistening in his blood red eyes.

"That's Vincent Valentine, he doesn't talk much," Tifa raised an eyebrow, "He's in my English class." Tifa nodded and watched him gracefully walk over to the table that the girl named Yuffie had sat down on. He looked very stiff and didn't look over at anyone.

"Handsome isn't he?" Aerith said in awe, looking in his direction.

"Yeah..." Tifa looked to where they were sitting. They looked pretty normal, but something about them screamed out special. They looked a total different league to the other ordinary students in the cafeteria.

Tifa looked back at the door that had opened after Vincent.

It was then when _he_ came in. He had golden blonde spiky hair and the most amazing sapphire orbs. He had a perfectly built body and had a model look face. He was also wearing a long sleeve grey top and loose blue jeans. He took long strides across the cafeteria to the same table the other two had sat down at.

"That's Cloud Strife, totally gorgeous obviously," Aerith breathed out, "Of course nobody here is good enough for him," Tifa nodded silently, watching him sit down.

"So like, don't waste your time you know," She laughed, looking down at her lunch. Something told Tifa that something had probably happened between them, something involving Aerith getting totally blown off. Aerith changed the topic conversation quickly and started talking about some good looking celebrity breaking up with his girlfriend. Tifa was only half listening, eyes still on the mysterious group who were sitting down at the table talking. _They are so extra ordinary! _She thought to herself. The bell rung and with that the cafeteria started to empty out.

"What lesson have you got next Tifa?" Cissnei asked. Tifa looked at her timetable which read out 'Biology'.

"Biology," Tifa replied, folding up the timetable and putting it back in her jeans pocket.

"Hey me too!" Reno appeared by her side making Tifa jump.

"Me, Aerith and Rude have English so we'll see you at lunch," Cissnei gave Tifa a sympathetic look, and walked with Aerith and Rude to their next class.

"Come on, I'll show you were building 2 is!" Reno stated, putting his arm around Tifa's shoulders and yanking her towards their biology lesson. _Oh dear god..._

"...So I'm here for you," Reno hadn't stopped talking to Tifa on their way to biology, "a lunch date, shoulder to cry on..."

"I'm kinda' like the suffer in silence type," Tifa smiled politely, still gritting her teeth, looking at Reno's arm which was still slung around her shoulders.

"No problem honey, hey I was wondering..." Tifa closed her eyes and wished he would stop hitting on her.

"-Hey isn't that the biology class?" Tifa quickly pointed out, pulling away from his grasp.

"...yeah," Reno said, realizing he had missed his chance. They both entered the classroom which was already full.

"Tseng, Tifa's new here," Reno said to the teacher who was at his desk. He had black hair and looked well dressed. Tifa handed the slip while Reno went to sit at the back in his normal seat.

"Welcome Tifa, this is biology as you already know and you will need these," He handed her a text book and a few sheets. Tifa accepted them and smiled to herself. _At least this teacher isn't mean!_.

"I'm afraid this class is quite full but I'm sure we can find a seat for you.." He searched for an empty seat for the new girl to sit in, "There next to Strife,"

Tifa followed his gaze and saw the empty seat next to the angel looking boy she had seen earlier in the cafeteria. Instant blood rush. She breathed out and did as Tseng had told. She sat in the empty seat and tried not to stare too much at the angel boy. He didn't even twitch, just keeping his eyes to the front of the classroom, possibly waiting for the class to begin.

Tseng started the class, talking about what modules they would study. Most of them Tifa had already finished from her last school so biology would be a breeze. Tseng stopped talking and set out the tasks for the day. At times she would shyly glance over to the angel boy named 'Cloud', blushing a deep crimson. He looked so handsome. She watched carefully as his arm flexed, writing a perfect script on the test sheets. Total perfection. Reluctantly Tifa returned to her sheet and started to answer a few problems on the question sheet, using her hair as a curtain to hide from the model. Eventually Tifa got to a question where she would need the text book for guidance so she grabbed the book, the model looking boy also had made a grab towards it. They touched fingertips, and a burst of electricity that shot through Tifa's hand was so strong that she grabbed back her hand. She blushed a deep crimson, from head to toe.

"Um..s-s-sorry.." She stuttered, eyes flickering wildly and her heart beating like crazy. She could feel the sweat dripping from her forehead. He barley made eye contact looking towards the desk and pushed the book in the middle. He then retuned back to his sheet, casually dismissing the situation. _What the... _Tifa angrily thought. She didn't know whether to feel angry or humiliated. Whichever it was, she carried on with her problem sheet, digging the pencil lead hard into the paper. When she had finished she saw that the model looking boy next to her had already completed both problem sheets. _How did he do that so fast! _She looked around the classroom and saw that most students where still completing the first sheet, Reno included, who was peeking at the girls test sheet next to him. _Typical._ Tifa started on the second test sheet rushing through the answers as fast as she could. As soon as she was done she slowly had built up the confidence to speak to him. _Should I?_ She breathed in and ignored her nerves that were bubbling in her stomach.

"These problems were sure easy to work out huh?" Her voice wobbled as she said each word, biting her bottom lip hard. She couldn't even look at him properly causing her to looked down to her lap. He slightly looked at her, raised a perfect blonde eyebrow and then looked back to the front. He nodded slightly, looking not the slightest bit interested. Tifa sighed a little and pressed on.

"I've done this module at my old high school that's why," His eyes flickered towards her sheet then looked to his watch to check the time, still ignoring her._ What a jerk! _She turned away from him and gave up feeling rejected.

As soon as the bell started to ring the angel boy got up, collected up his books and messenger bag and swiftly and paced around Tifa's chair and quickly exited. Tifa angrily shoved her books and sheets in her bag and flung it over her shoulders. _What a snob! He may look perfect but manners go a long way! _She thought to herself, getting up from her stool.

"That was a hard lesson huh?" Reno appeared as if from nowhere behind her making her violently jump.

"Yeah it was," She replied, still all worked up from the brief meeting with the angelic boy.

"What's up?" Reno asked as they left the classroom.

"Nothing, I'm fine," Tifa said, still with a hint of anger in her words. She was flattered that he was making an effort with her but she still wished he would just leave her alone.

"Don't worry, Strife is always like that," Tifa suddenly was all ears and eyes for Reno. He had got the problem in one. Obviously he had been staring at her insanely all lesson sensing the tension between her and her biology partner.

"Really?" Reno nodded and made a face and began to speak.

"Strife's an ignorant jerk, he only hangs around with those weirdos, the hyper ninja girl Yuffie and the goth kid Vincent," He said, swinging his bag over his shoulders.

"Have they always been like that?" Tifa asked, looking in Reno's direction.

"They moved down here a few years back, and yeah they keep to themselves," Tifa nodded, gathering as much information of them as possible, "They all live together with their adoptive father , Angeal, I think his name is." Tifa stayed silent.

"Weird huh? Like they're all the same age and they live together!" A throaty laugh escaped out of Reno's mouth, "bunch of freaks."

Tifa looked away and processed the information Reno had given her._ They all lived together? That is weird..._

"Too bad you have to sit next to him, I would gladly swap but Tseng is really touchy with seating plans," Tifa smiled limply and looked away from him._ Oh boy... _

Her first day had been a mixed of emotions. She had no words for it as she drove back to Barret's place in her trusty and rusty old truck. To sum up, she found that her first day had been a success. She had made a few friends, not got lost and found all her classes on time (except for that first class she had been late for.) She smiled to herself, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel to the radio music whilst also looking out the dirty window at the new environment she was now in. There were a lot of grey buildings, motorways and a lot of people in the bustling town. There was hardly any greenery anywhere which was a contrast to her home town. The more she fooled herself that she was absorbed in the scenery the more she got upset. The situation in biology still bugged her. She just couldn't get_ him_ out of her head as she tried to figure out why he acted like that towards her. She also thought about the information Reno had gave her. She thought and thought but still couldn't think of an explanation. She breathed out deeply and carried on down the road. There was something off and she wanted to know why.

When Tifa wanted something, she more than likely always got it somewhere down the line. She made a promise to herself that she would uncover these secrets while she was there. Her mind was set and her will was strong. _I will figure you out Cloud Strife. One day at a time. _


	3. Savin' Me

**Savin' Me**

"_Show me what it's like to be the last one standing, teach me wrong from right, and I'll show you what I can be." - Nickelback ~ Savin' me_

For the next few days Tifa had gotten used to her new high school system, learning to get to the hot dog queues as soon as possible (they sold out quickly), being on time for her calculus class and finding out what clicks were in and what clicks were out. She had been successful with the 'fitting in' process and had made a bunch of friends along the way. Of course there were flaws like the ever-so adoring Reno who would not leave her alone, still failing in calculus and of course, the most important in Tifa's eyes. Cloud Strife. He had still been ignoring her every biology lesson. Every time Tifa had acquired the courage to talk to him he would dismiss it swiftly, either with returning to the work or giving one of his 'oh-god-please-stop-talking-to-me' nods. It was like he was making an effort to avoid her conversations. By Friday it looked like Tifa was on the edge of giving up completely. There was just so much rejection a girl could take in one week.

"So yeah you wanna' come or what?" Aerith asked, munching on a appetising peach, "It'll be fun!"

Tifa looked her way pausing, completely out of it. Obviously she had other things on her mind...

"What?"  
Reno slapped the palm of his hand onto his forehead in annoyance.

"Loveless Academy!" Tifa gave a look which simply meant she had no idea what they were going on about.

"Basically, every Friday night we go to this Academy where bands play, it's fun," Cissnei cut in, running her fingers through her auburn, wavy hair. _Every Friday night? Friday's today, _Tifa thought

briefly to herself.

"Oh, I don't know guys...I have a lot of essay questions to finish off..." They all turned to her, each raising their eyebrows making Tifa blush a deep crimson. "...but what am I saying? Of course I'll go!" She let out a forced laugh and looked immediately down at her empty food plate.

"Awesome!" Reno smiled and began swinging on his chair.

"So we're meeting outside Loveless about six o'clock_ on the dot._" Aerith said, exaggerating the 'on the dot,' looking in Reno's direction.

"That was one time man!" He yelled, rocking backwards and forwards, "Not my fault!"

Tifa looked at Aerith with a questionable look.

"We arranged to meet outside Loveless around six o'clock but Reno was late and made us wait outside in the freezing cold for 2 hours!" She explained, not looking at all happy."Not to mention it was raining like crazy and these creepy guys kept asking us for our numbers!"

Tifa made a face and shuddered at the thought.

"Edge does get a little bit dangerous at night time," Cissnei added, Rude nodded silently to this.

"Don't worry Tifa, you don't have to worry I'll protect you!" Reno grinned darkly, looking her way.

"Ew, you're such a pervert," Cissnei instantly flicked her hair over her shoulder, distracting Reno for a split second, making him lean backwards. Suddenly his chair slipped for underneath him making him fall on the floor with a massive thud. Their table and other tables around the cafeteria all burst an uproar of laughter accompanied with students pointing and passing professors and lecturers shaking their heads in a disapproving manner.

"Thanks a lot you bitch," Reno muttered, crawling on his hands and knees.

"No problem..." She bent down to his eye level with their noses almost touching, "..._honey_," They both stayed there exchanging dark looks. She got back to table level and grinned.

"Rude do something!" Reno yelped, also getting up and returning his chair back to its normal upright position.

"Sorry, I don't hit girls," Rude answered quietly, pushing his dark shades further up his nose and looking in Aerith's, Tifa's and Cissnei's direction, "no offence."

"None taken," Cissnei nodded happily. Reno grumbled and sat back down on his chair, crossing his arms over.

"Such drama," Tifa whispered to Aerith who was sitting next to her.

"Yeah..." Aerith agreed, biting the last bit of her peach.

"So anyway, I'll call you tonight around five and I'll pick you up okay?" Aerith turned to Tifa.

"Sure, you know where I'm staying right?" Aerith's eyes squinted, a sign that she was concentrating.

"Yeah that 7th heaven bar place?" Tifa nodded to this.

"What do I bring?" Tifa asked.

"Just some money and yourself," Aerith smiled, packing up her lunch.

"Don't worry I've got fake ID's so you don't have to sneak in any beer or anything," Reno cut in, sorting out his hair which had got dismantled during his fall.

"You're not getting one though," Reno stated sharply, eyes on Cissnei.

"Oh come on it was a joke you big girl!" She laughed, shuffling her chair close to his.

"Beg." Reno grinned darkly again looking down at Cissnei. She instantly flung her hand which met his cheek.

"You're gonna get it!" They both stood up and started running through the Cafeteria and out the doors at lightning speed leaving Rude, Aerith and Tifa at the table. Tifa gave Aerith a confused look.

"Are they always like that?" Tifa asked, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Nah, but Reno knows what buttons to push to get her aggravated," Tifa nodded to this.

Aerith turned to Rude who was drinking out of his cup, "Rude you coming to Loveless?"

"Yeah," He said putting down the plastic cup and crossing his arms over.

"Cool," As soon as the word left her cherry pink lips the bell started to ring.

"Yay, Calculus..." Tifa stated sarcastically, getting up and swung her bag over her shoulders. Aerith and Rude followed.

"See ya tonight Rude!" They both called. He nodded while Tifa and Aerith both started to walk off in the opposite direction. He had English Lit while Aerith and Tifa had Calculus.

They swiftly made their way out of the cafeteria then around the corner to go up the stairs. As they turned to go up the stairs Tifa suddenly noticed a familiar face coming down the stairs. It was _him._ He was utterly breathtaking. He was wearing a loose long sleeve white shirt with a pair of rocker-type black jeans accompanied with black converse. His hair was In his normal gratify defying style. Tifa caught her breath and suddenly that feeling, the one with the butterflies, rushed within her, nearly knocking all the breath out of her lungs. She kept her head down as he got to the bottom of the stairs, turning around them, almost in arms reach. Almost touching arms. Like usual he passed her without even acknowledging she was there. The moment passed at lightning speed and then it was gone. She looked behind her shoulder quickly, watching him breeze off in that adoring way he did. She could have sworn he had looked back at her too but she wasn't sure, he was too far away to tell.

"Hello? Anyone home?" Aerith laughed, waving a hand in Tifa face repeatedly. Tifa looked at her stunned and immediately snapped out of it.

"Calculus! Lets go to calculus!" She perked up, making a start up the stairs. Aerith raised an eyebrow and followed her, giggling to herself. Once they got to the top Aerith walked in front of Tifa, hands on her hips.

"Hey wait! Spill the beans!" She laughed, blocking Tifa from entering class.

"Aerith come on! We're gonna' be late!" Tifa yelled, trying to push pass her.

"Not until you tell me what that was all about!" Tifa shot her a questioning look.  
"What? What was what about?" Aerith smiled lightly to herself. They looked at each other for around 4 seconds. Aerith squinted her eyes and looked deep into Tifa's eyes, like she was reading her mind or something. Her eyes widened and she gasped out loud.

"What?" Tifa laughed nervously, "What?" She repeated. Aerith turned around and headed for class, giggling to herself.

"Aerith what!" Tifa jogged to her side grabbing her arm.

"I don't blame you though, he is quite dreamy!" She laughed louder making Tifa suddenly stop. She opened the door to Calculus and entered.

"What the hell are you on about woman!"

Its was obvious that Tifa was playing dumb to Aerith's accusation. There was no way she was going to admit it. Not now, not ever.

Tifa glanced at the clock which hung lifelessly on her bedroom wall. It read 5:55PM. She was sat down on the edge of her bed staring into space. _I wonder where we're going first?_ _Surely it shouldn't take us a whole hour to get to Loveless Academy,_She thought to herself. She got up and checked that she had her white purse which was resting on her night stand. She gazed passed her night stand, towards the long rectangular mirror that was hanging of her wall. She gazed at her reflection, looking at her choice of clothes that she had picked out. She was wearing black skin tight jeans, a cute blue T-shirt and blue Vaans. She then looked at her hair and face. Her velvety dark glossy hair was hanging long and loosely. _I guess I look okay... _Just then her cell started to ring and light up. She grabbed at it and checked the screen which read 'Aerith'.

"Hey Aerith,"

"Hey Tifa, I'm outside now," Tifa made her way to the window and looked outside. She saw a green car parked up the kerb with Aerith inside waving frantically up at her with a cell phone pressed up against her ear.

"Okay I'm coming down now," Tifa smiled and waved back at her friend. She clicked 'end call' and grabbed her purse, exiting the room swiftly.

"Bye Barret, I'll be back at 12," Tifa called, as she descended the stairs and almost ran to the front door of the bar, carefully passing tables. She knew it would be OK for her to return at that hour because the bar was still open at that time anyway.

She unlatched the door and exited quickly. She looked around and spotted Aerith's green car, waving again at her friend.

"Hey!" Aerith grinned as Tifa shut the car door and sat in shot gun seat. Aerith had her hair down which was a change and was wearing a red dress with red sandals.

"Hey Aerith," Tifa answered, throwing her purse in the back seat.

"We need to pick Cissnei up and then we're gonna' drive straight to Loveless," Tifa nodded at this and stared ahead of her as Aerith brought the car to life and started down the road.

"Why do you pick everyone up? Like we all have cars, you shouldn't have to go out of your way," Tifa said, turning the radio on.

"Ah well it saves gas if one person picks everyone up," She answered, hands on the steering wheel, looking intently on the road, "We take it in turns every Friday,"

"Ah cool," Then followed an awkward silence. Tifa reached for the radio again and switched stations going from rock stations to pop then to screamo, which made both Aerith and Tifa wince at the sound of it.

"Hey Aerith?"

"Yeah?"

"What are the bands like?" Tifa asked, settling on a station. "You know, at Loveless?"

Aerith flicked the indicators on and turned into a narrow side road.

"Depends, mostly rock-type bands I guess," She answered, eyes still on the road.

It took 30 minutes to get to Cissnei's house. Aerith went through the same process, calling to say that she was outside. 3 minutes later Cissnei appeared, shutting the front door behind her.

"Hey guys," Cissnei said, jumping into the back, shutting the side door.

"Hey," and with this Aerith started up the car again and started down the road.

"Cissnei, you look nice!" Tifa said, craning her neck so she could talk to Cissnei through the gap between the two front seats. She really did. She was wearing a cute black dress with long black boots, a bunch of accessories including a chain heart necklace. Her medium auburn hair hung loosely and freely as ever.

"Thanks!" Cissnei smiled, showing her pearl white teeth.

"Any particular reason why you look so lovely Cissnei?" Aerith laughed but in a different sort of way. Cissnei kept quiet and scrunched her face up.

"Aerith, not this again..." Tifa raised her eyebrow up. Obviously she was missing the punch line.

"What's going on?"

Aerith turned the car onto a main road, keeping a massive grin on her face.

"I have this theory that-"

"-it's not true! Don't listen to her!" Cissnei sharply cut in but was still laughing.

"-She likes Reno!" Aerith blurted out before she could get another chance to be interrupted.

"Well well well!" Tifa laughed, feeling a little bit bad for Cissnei. Reno had been giving her all the attention since she moved into town.

"I don't like Reno, period."

Aerith giggled and smiled at Tifa.  
"Sure, we totally believe you!"

"Not!" Both Aerith and Tifa burst out laughing while poor Cissnei shook her head not looking at all in the mood to joke around.  
"I really don't..." Cissnei argued with a serious look. Aerith made a 'pffft' sound, eyes still on the road.

"No fair, I want somebody to crush over, you two are too lucky!" She pouted, flicking her hair from her eyes,

"Huh? Who are you crushing over Tifa?" Cissnei questioned, leaning over to the gap between the two front seats.

"Nobody," Tifa answered solemnly, but her cheeks that were turning rose colour were doing nothing in her favour.

"She likes that Cloud Strife," Aerith was on a roll tonight.

Cissnei had a puzzled look on her face, "Oh... him, the blonde right?"

Aerith nodded to Cissnei's question, flicking on the car indicators.

"Look guys, I don't like him okay? I don't even know him!" Tifa yelped, rubbing her forehead with angst.

"I can't blame you though," Aerith continued, totally ignoring Tifa's statement, "he is truly brilliant and he looks so handsome..." A silence shortly followed between the three girls. All that could be heard was the radio and the gentle, bump bump, of the car wheels until Cissnei finally spoke up.

"Well its not all about looks,"

Both Tifa and Aerith nodded to this.

"But they do help..." Aerith giggled silently while looking slowly to Tifa, Tifa doing the same, trying to muffle a laugh. They then all burst out in a unison of laughter. This is what Tifa loved the most, laughing and smiling with her new friends. She always wanted her days to be like this and there was no doubt in anyone's mind that Aerith and Cissnei felt the same way too.

Reno and Rude were waiting outside Loveless right on time, looking rather flash. Aerith parked her car in the car lot just around Loveless Academy and then the three girls went to meet them.

"Well well well, look what the Tonberry brought in!" They all walked through the entrance of the Loveless academy, paying for their entry tickets. As soon as Tifa pushed the heavy metal door back she felt a rush of hot air and the thudding of the music coming from downstairs. She followed Aerith who was in front down going down a dark stairway. The thudding music got louder and louder the more Tifa took a step down until it was blaring. She could also hear crowds screaming, jumping, to the beats of the music. _This is mental! _Tifa thought to herself as they came to a long hallway lit by a dim light that kept flickering. Aerith moved down the hallway, Tifa following, and pushed another metal door open and with that they were in. It was manic. Tifa saw the stage area were band members were flying everywhere and anywhere. The crowd was massive. They all looked packed as sardines. Tifa felt sorry for the poor members of the audience squashed at the front as everyone moshed forward to the heavy metal guitar solo. It smelt of stale beer and sweat. _Nice..._But the atmosphere was amazing. Almost electrifying.

"Right I got the ID's guys, anyone want anything? Tifa?" Reno shouted over the loud music.

"No its okay I don't want anything yet!" Tifa shouted back, plugging her fingers in her ear holes.

"Yeah I want something!"

"Me too!" Both Cissnei and Rude screamed. Aerith was driving back so she was warming up the bench for tonight. The three of them went to the bar while Aerith and Tifa stayed near the crowd.

"Amazing isn't it?" Aerith shouted in Tifa's ear. Tifa nodded with a grin, and turned to face the stage area. She had to stand on her tip toes to see over the crowds. The heavy metal band had finished their song and left the stage area.

"Thank god for that they sucked!" Aerith said, returning to her normal volume. A dark haired boy with sapphire eyes walked on stage. He had a microphone in his hand. Tifa recognized him from somewhere... _Where have I seen him before? _Tifa pondered to herself.

"And that was Hot Bloooded!" He presented, followed by the crowd cheering. Tifa suddenly remembered his voice. _Zack Fair! That guy who had that motorcycle accident! _

"Next on is a new band who actually come from Edge! It's their first gig guys so play nice!" Some crowd members laughed to this, some cheered. "The one, the only, AVALANCHE!" Zack ran off stage to the right and three members of Avalanche ran on from the left. They set their instruments up and were rearing to go.

"Oh my god..." Aerith stammered, putting a hand to her face.

"What? What's up Aerith?" Aerith pointed to the staging area with Tifa following her gestured hand and saw 3 also very familiar faces...

"Yo! Hows it goin' Edge!" The girl at the front screamed into the microphone. Tifa gasped. It was the ninja girl from school.

"Then they must be..." Vincent, Yuffie... And _him_. _They're a band? _Tifa thought to herself, still in shock.

"We're gonna' rock this joint! HIT IT!" Vincent, who was on drums, slammed a wild drum solo why Cloud and Yuffie followed in with their bass and electric guitars. It was sensational. They played brilliantly.

"Come on!" Aerith pulled Tifa into the wild crowd, pushing past people. Tifa had never got knocked around so much In her life, with people hitting, pushing past. She held onto dear life, clutching Aerith's hand with much force. They got to the middle, near, but not close enough to see. Suddenly the crowd surged forward and Tifa let go of Aerith's hand, getting taken away with the crowd. She was on her own now._ Oh Crap..._

"Aerith!" She screamed but her efforts were all in vain, you could hardly hear her over the strumming of the two guitars. Tifa got surged to the front and got seriously squashed. She pushed back and made a space for her to stand._ I'm not a pushover! _She screamed in her head. She was ready to punch anyone who violated her, or even pushed her more into the metal gate that was surrounding the stage. At least she had made it to the front.

"Hey back off!" She shouted at the top of her lungs at a guy next to her who was trying to steal her spot. He backed off immediately, sensing that she wasn't the type to mess around. _Jeez... how do I get out of here? _Suddenly she stopped in her tracks and looked up on stage. This was the very first time she had heard Cloud Strife speak. Then again he wasn't speaking, he was singing. He was pitch perfect, and she watched him take the lead on the stage. He was more gorgeous then ever with his hair hanging a little bit more loosely but still in its usual spikes. As he sung, the song became gradually slower, with the quiet strumming from Yuffie and slow beats from Vincent. _Wow... _He was memorising and obviously Tifa wasn't the only girl who thought that.

"The lead singing is hot!" A girl said, who was behind Tifa.

"I know, he's so gorgeous...I wonder if we can go backstage and meet him?" The other whispered to her friend. Tifa glanced behind her shoulder and saw the two girls totally starstruck. They were so pretty and fashionable. Tifa felt a wash of sadness come over her. _What am I doing? He will never even give me a second look compared to those girls... _She sighed and returned her sight to the stage. They had finished their first song and the crowd cheered, whistled and applauded them. They were a hit. Afterwards, they played a further 4 more songs which were also a big hit with the crowd. At the end of their 4th song, Yuffie walked up to the microphone and tapped it repeatedly with the palm of her hand.

"Our next song is a cover of Nickelback's song 'Savin' me'," She grinned, "You should all know the words..."

And with that Cloud started the guitar solo, followed with Yuffie and Vincent joining in with drum and bass. The crowd all started to join in, swaying to the melody. All band members on the stage started to sing too, even Vincent. Tifa knew the words by heart and she found herself singing too.

_Show me what it's like  
To be the last one standing  
And teach me wrong from right  
And I'll show you what I can be  
And say it for me, say it to me  
And I'll leave this life behind me  
Say it if it's worth saving me  
at it's like  
To be the last one standing  
And teach me wrong from right  
And I'll show you what I can be  
Hurry I'm fallin'  
And say it for me, say it to me  
And I'll leave this life behind me  
Say it if it's worth saving me _

As Cloud strummed the last note the crowd went wild, some applauding, some whistling. Tifa found herself captivated. She couldn't keep her eyes off the stage for one second. She glanced towards Cloud, watching him run his hand through his hair. He looked so natural.

"Thank you for havin' us! It's been a pleasure!" Yuffie screeched down the microphone and with that the three band members made an exit backstage, taking their instruments with them.  
"It's time for break now but come back soon we've still got a load of more bands!" Zack presented, as he appeared on stage once again. The crowd started to disperse, leaving Tifa with more room to move around freely. _Finally... _Tifa sighed with relief.

"Hey it's you!"

Tifa looked up on stage to see a smiling Zack, looking at her In disbelief.

"Hey Zack," Tifa smiled. They both smiled at each other for a awhile, thinking about the odds of seeing each other again. Someone yelled his name from backstage and he made a face.

"...Look Tifa, I have to go backstage for a sec, I'll come back though and we can talk later okay?" He said urgently. Tifa nodded to this and with that Zack was gone. Tifa started to look for the others she had lost and found Aerith near the exit.

"Aerith!" Tifa called from across the room. Aerith looked around wildly, not looking at all happy. Almost frustrated.  
"Tifa, we have to leave now," She said in a serious manner as Tifa got to her.

"Why? What happened?" Tifa questioned, sensing an edge to her voice.

"The guys at the bar found out their ID's were fake and kicked them out, I'm gonna' have to drive them back so you coming?" Tifa sighed at this. She couldn't leave because she had promised to talk to Zack. She couldn't leave him hanging.

"I'm gonna' stay here for awhile, don't worry about me I'll get a taxi home or something," Aerith nodded and hugged Tifa.  
"Thanks for coming," She smiled sweetly and then briskly exited the room.

Tifa made her way back to the staging area and sat on a nearby red couch, waiting for Zack to make a reappearance. She waited patiently, looking around the large room, hands in lap. Her mind wondered to the band 'Avalanche' and Cloud. They were amazing, she thought to herself, smiling. She was still mesmerised with the whole thing that she forgot where she was.

"I'm back!" Tifa looked up to see Zack grinning at her. She smiled back and moved along the couch, giving Zack room to sit down.

"So you enjoying the night?" He asked as he sat down next to her.

"Yeah it's pretty good, I like this place," She grinned, looking around the room again.

"This your first time here?" She nodded at his question, tucking a strand of hair behind her ears.

"Ah," he paused, "I'm guessing you're new in town, right?" She nodded again and laughed.

"That day we met was the day I arrived." Zack made a face at this.

"What?" She asked.

Zack scratched the back of his head and looked to the floor, "boy...I'm sorry again for nearly killing you,"

"But you didn't so you haven't got anything to apologise for," Tifa smiled again, "but its good in a way."

Zack looked up and raised is eyebrow, "How exactly?"

"Well, we would never have met right? And I wouldn't be talking to you now,"

"Oh yeah!" He shinned, both smiling at each other.

"So you work here? Must be great," Tifa changed the subject swiftly.

"Yeah it is! Going backstage and all is great but it can be quite crazy at times,"

"Cool,"

"Hey!" Zack perked up, startling Tifa, "next time you come here I can get you backstage passes for you and your friends if you want."

"You don't have to do that," Tifa said feeling a little guilty.

"No no! Call it a formal a apology for almost running you over, its not much but I guess it will do," Tifa sighed and punched him lightly on the shoulder.

"Forget that! It's in the past now," She told him in a serious manner, "We're friends now, right?"

He looked back at her and took a pause.

"What? You're freakin' me out here!" She laughed again. He shook his head lightly and grinned.

"Friends it is!" Giving her a light high 5. They fell about laughing. Tifa found that it was so easy to talk to Zack. More so then Aerith. She liked being with him and loved being in his presence. She had hoped he felt the same way too.

"Zack, get over here! We need you!" A voice screamed from behind the scenes of the stage.  
"That's my cue," Zack got up, Tifa joining him.

"It was nice seeing you again Zack," Tifa smiled. Zack returned his smile and nodded.

"Yeah," He agreed.

"I'll come back to Loveless next week sometime and we can hang out if you want?" He grinned again at this.

"Sure, I'll see you sometime next week then!" Zack waved to her and ran back, towards the backstage immediately leaving Tifa. Tifa had nothing else to do so she made her way to the exit. _So to sum up the night in one word would be... Mental! _She thought to herself, pushing the huge metal door back. A rush of cold night air attacked her like sharp needle-pricks. She shuddered, and wished she had brought a jacket, rubbing her arms to keep warm. She reached to her bag and took out her purse._ Crap... _She had no money left in it. She had spent it all on the entry ticket. She checked the time on her phone which read 11:20. She still had time to get back to the bar but she had no idea how to get back on foot. She couldn't remember the way Aerith had took her. She started walked down the dark path hastily, trying to come up with a plan. She got her phone out again and started to dial for Barret's number. She clicked the call button and waited patiently on the line, still walking down the dark path. There was no answer. _Damn, the bar must be too busy for him to hear the phone ring... _She turned to the right, trying to retrace the way back home. The only light visible were the street headlights. She could see lights of places that were still open. Maybe she could ask someone for directions... _But there's nobody here? _It was true. There was no one on the streets. It was late and everyone was either in nightclubs or at home cosy in their warm beds. This is when Tifa started to panic, redialling '7th heaven'. Still no answer. She thought about going back to Loveless Academy but she had already been walking for a good 20 minutes and it was too far to walk all the back. She started to walk at a faster pace now, looking around wildly for signs. She suddenly stopped in her tracks. She caught her breath, eyes wide open. In front of her was a 2 large black outlines. They were walking up to her, sneering to each other. She turned around quickly and started to walk away from them, sensing a possible threat. She glanced over her shoulder quickly and noticed that they started walking faster too. She crossed the road and turned right, looking for some help. She got her phone out, ready to dial 911 if anything happened. She stopped to catch her breath, adrenaline pumping through her veins. She looked back again and noticed they had gone. She sighed in relief and looked forward. She couldn't have been more wrong.

"Hey Sweetie pie," one of the thugs sneered, walking up to her, almost a few steps away.

"Don't come any closer!" She warned, holding her phone, ready to dial for emergency services.

"Oh don't be like that honey," The other thug said, coming up from behind her. She gasped in shock, dropping her phone on the ground. It smashed on the floor, breaking the screen. She winced, now terrified.

"Oh dear, look at the mess you've made," The other thug said, who was in front of her. They started to corner her like lions hunting for their prey.

The thug behind her clasped his hand over her mouth. She violently scratched him on his arms, making him scream out in pain. He let go of her and she clenched her fists ready for battle.

"Right you little bitch," The thug she had scratched came up from behind her. He tried to attack her but she dodged him and punched him hard in his nose causing him to bleed. She could defend herself against one but two became a struggle. The other thug grabbed her hair and swung her into a dark alley. She hit into the wall with hard impact.

"Uh.." She could feel a sticky red pulsing liquid drip down her face but she could feel no pain. Her adrenaline rush numbed her whole body. The thug ran up to her and turned her around, grabbing her by the throat.

"Take...it..." she struggled to say, hardly able to breath. She meant her purse, even though their was nothing much in it.

"What makes you think I want that?" He asked, smiling darkly whilst tightening his grip around her neck, coming up closer to her face. She started to cry, realising his hidden meaning and tried to move her head away from his. She couldn't believe that this was happening to her. The next few seconds where a blur to her. She could remember the thug being peeled off her and thrown with amazing force into the wall. She dropped to the floor and lifted her head up trying to see what was happening. The other thug came up being the shadow trying to attack but the shadow was too quick from him. The shadow appeared behind the thug at lightning speed and threw him hard to the floor. The shadow picked the thug back up and lifted him up with inhuman strength. The thug screamed and pleaded from him to let go. Tifa strained to see who it was. She lifted her head higher, wincing at the pain. She gasped as the street headlight revealed who her saviour was. Her eyes met with the same sapphire orbs she had been gazing at in her biology lessons. The same blonde spiky hair. The same angelic face... Cloud Strife...

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A/N Oh god this chapter took me forever to finish T_T"""" hope you like it and i'm sorry if their are any mistakes i missed. A thankyou for the people who have reviewed this story so far and a thankyou for future reviews! I hope you like it :D


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